If health-care sharing is gaining in popularity, could it be expanded on a much broader scale? The exemption in the ACA that health-care sharing nonprofits won applied only to ministries started before 1999 and organized around “a common set of ethical or religious beliefs.” But if the law were changed, or if current groups could create some kind of spin-off, a popular, secular health-care sharing group would be a possibility, as long as it had some kind of fraternal bond tying members together (such as a trade association) and offered competitive rates, says health economist Herrick. And as nonprofits, current health-care sharing ministries could also receive some sort of donation for expansion, though currently they receive few gifts that aren’t from members. But the arrival of the ACA certainly brought a demand for alternate forms of health care.